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Another conference is in the books. Although advance ticket sales were slower this year {probably due to Covid fears and less name recognition of our speakers (your fault, not theirs)}, same day attendance came through and made it another successful year.
If you weren't there this year, you missed a very entertaining and informative event.
If you want to catch up:
check out the documentary, "A Tear In The Sky" for insights from Dr. Szydagis;
pick up one of James WIllis's books,
visit the "Mysterious Universe" web site for a dose of Paul Seaburn humor,
or click here to read about Thomas Wertman's' Salt Fork State Park multiple abduction investigation.
S P E A K E R---S U M M A R I E S
Dr. Matthew Szydagis
Topic: Why Non-Human Intelligence Is A Reasonable Hypothesis: A Scientific Perspective
Does everything about UFOs, UAPs, USOs, Flying Saucers, Flying Discs, Tic Tacs, Cigar Shapes, etc. have you confused? Professor Szydagis put it all in perspective with his whirlwind presentation that addressed all the random information about the subject and tied it up with a "logic" bow. He actually made statistics our friend at one point in his relentless attack on those who would prefer keeping the field of Ufology a blur through their overwhelming abuse of logic. I have to think that Mr. Spock was somewhere in the room (like Obi-Wan) looking over Matthew's shoulder cheering 'You go Doc!"
The conference attendees particulary enjoyed the Doctor's knowledge of physics as he applied it to explaining almost every aspect of the UFO phenomenon. Matthew proved that knowledge is a good thing in the hands of the skilled. Dr. Szydagis demonstrated his skills quite admirably.
BIO
Professor Matthew Szydagis received his B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2005, 2006 and 2011 respectively, and then continued his work in physics as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Davis (2010-2014). Since 2014, he has been a professor at the University at Albany Department of Physics, pursuing experimental particle astrophysics, in particular the direct laboratory detection of dark matter WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles) underground, and general detector development for "rare event" searches. He works on the LUX (Large Underground Xenon) and LZ liquid-Xe based experiments and is the developer of the NEST (Noble Element Simulation Technique) software and the "snowball chamber" supercooled water technology.
Dr. Szydagis' and Dr. Knuth's work through UAPx (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena eXpeditions) was featured in the film "A Tear In The Sky" released in 2022. Professor Szydagis has given over 150 scientific and public presentations around the country and around the world since 2005.
James Willis
Topic: The Loveland Frog Amalgam
James Willis came to our conference with the sole purpose of destroying any logic associated with Ufology, and succeeded mercilessly. Using the example of the "Loveland Frog", James brought to light that the history of an event can go much deeper then the story told around a campfire. Mr Willis spun a tail of evolution that would have made Darwin proud. He pointed out through his relentless research, that the history of that famous Loveland Frog stretched way back to other encounters, a hundred years before, that did not even involve frogs, but an encounter with aliens with "frog like" mouths.
James made the audience thnk about what hidden truths may lie behind the stories and accounts we hear. He brought to light the hidden adage that the story you hear may not be the truth, the whole truth, "or even" nothing but the truth.
BIO
"My name is James A. Willis and I have spent the last 38 years chasing after ghosts, monsters, and all things strange and spooky. I’ve been lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to write about my travels and exploits in over a dozen books. , I was born and raised in the Hudson Valley of New York state, where I spent many a night looking for, and eventually seeing, the infamous UFO from the book Night Siege.
The whole “published author” bit just sort of fell into my lap. Truth be told, I was always obsessed with visiting weird places and then digging into the history behind said places. Never dawned on me that there were others out there who shared my obsession and wanted to hear about my experiences. Until that fateful day in 2003 when "Weird NJ"’s own Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman came calling and the rest, as they say, is weird history."
A sought-after public speaker, James Willis has given presentations throughout the United States, during which he has educated and entertained tens of thousands of people of all ages in crowd sizes ranging from 10 to well over 600. He has also been featured in close to 100 media sources, including CNN, USA Today, Columbus Business First, Midwest Living, The Canadian Press, the Astonishing Legends podcast, and even the Kuwait Times.
Mr. Willis currently resides in Galena, Ohio, with his wife and daughter and two narcoleptic cats.
James' web sites:-----
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Some books by James Willis. These and other titles available at Amazon.com
Thomas Wertman
Topic:How Close are We to Disclosure?
The Salt Fork State Park Abductions
Tom, based on the theme's presented by our previous speakers, pulled an "audio switch" and presented his first hand account of a recent multiple abduction report he investigated that occured at the Salt Fork State Park located in the appalachian foothills of eastern Ohio. WIth his relentless attention to detail, Thomas took the audience on a step by step journey through the sometimes terrifying experience of two fishermen who were doing nothing more than their weekly relaxation ritual of fishing on the banks of a peaceful lake.
His journey revealed many of the tools investigators use to gather and analyze evidence, recreating the events with a "Holmesian" like skill. Tom demonstrated the logic referenced by Dr Szydagis, and the hidden truths revealed by James Willis' pursuit of truth can sometimes merge into the unexpected.
Thomas spoke of the "unexpected tool" of personal experience as his investigation brought him full circle from observer to experiencer. This most unexpected twist, gripped the attention of the audience and demonstrated that the deeper one digs, the more unexpected the prize may be.
BIO
"It is said we are all products of our environment. Growing up in the 60's, my environment included television shows such as "The Twilight Zone", "The Outer Limits", and "The Time Tunnel". Television led to books, then, any movie no matter how bad. Most of this media was only fictional. Providing a grounding effect was the early NASA space programs culminating with the lunar landings. This environment produced my interest in space exploration, the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence, and additional dimensions.
Unfortunately, this interest had to be put aside to build a career, raise a family, and earn a bachelor's degree in business and a master's in education. Now with the children grown up and pursuing their own careers, it was time to return to my lifelong interest in the unknown. The first step was in 2008 by joining the Ohio based group the Cleveland Ufology Project (CUP). CUP is primarily a discussion group that provided an avenue to explore various fields associated with ufology. In 2018 as co-director, a departure was necessitated to dedicate more time for private UFO research.
CUP provided valuable networking contacts and through these, a greater understanding of UFO case studies. The second step, also beginning in 2008, was becoming a certified field investigator for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON). It's one thing to read a book or watch a television show about UFO sightings. Quite another to conduct the actual investigation and try to determine what the witness observed and why.
Who would have known that 15 years on, I would amass a total of 527 cases investigations in Ohio with one of the most interesting involving two fisherman who experienced over three and one-half hours of missing time. In addition to investigating Ohio cases, an additional 239 investigations were conducted in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico as part of the Case Assistant Group.
If that was not enough, now, as State Director, my new duties include having conducted over 300 community outreach programs, being a featured guest on radio and television shows, participating in five documentaries, playing an alien in a short film, and hosting two streaming talk shows."
Read about the original investigation:
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Paul Seaburn
Topic: Things You Should Not Say To An Extraterrestrial
Paul Seaburn proved that Ufology can be funny, as if Blind Frog Ranch didn't already do that. Do aliens have a sense of humor? Mr Seaburn cetainly hopes so. He shared anecdotes of his career experiences and demonstrated why he is such a valuable part of the "Mysterious Universe" family of writers.
After writing about them for years, Paul imagined himself in some of the most famous, infamous, unusual, and unbelievable stories he's ever heard and pondered what he would have said – or shouldn't have said - with the benefit of hindsight. Adding the experience of many years as a comedy writer, his imaginings kept the audience laughing for more. He demonstrated that humor is a vital part of Ufology.
How many speakers does it take to make a successful conference? Paul Seaburn proved it was four.
BIO
“Paul Seaburn's long, strange, mysterious trip to editor and writer at Mysterious Universe and host of the What in the World podcast began with a career in tech support, management and sales for two successful computer industry startups. A lifelong love of comedy led him to try standup, but his talent for writing resulted instead in a second career penning jokes for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Comic Strip Live and many top comedians. As jokes expanded to essays and scripts, his works were published by The New York Times, many magazines and in over 30 collections of humor, trivia and puzzles. He was the head writer and song lyricist for an Emmy-winning children's show, and the head writer for a jazz/comedy show on public radio. After a stint writing scripts for a comedy and weird news show, Paul brought his writing and comedy skills to the paranormal and strange news world at Mysterious Universe, where he can finally scratch the itch he's had since his youth to become a cross between Robert Ripley and Johnny Carson.”
You can check out many of Paul's articles on https://mysteriousuniverse.org and listen to his “What in the World” podcast on a variety of streaming platforms. In addition, Paul has a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Paul has authored and co-authored a number of published books in the humor realm. These and others are available through major online book retailers:
Mysterious Universe Web Site: 
----------------------------------------------------------Books by Paul Seaburn:
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